IUPUI TA Orientation

New graduate student teaching assistants (TA), welcome to the other side of the classroom!

Your unique position allows you to engage and motivate your students and build a strong rapport with them. By attending the IUPUI TA Orientation, TAs serving in roles of primary instructors, recitation leaders, lab instructors, or graders can:

Learn about the expectations and responsibilities associated with their specific teaching roles.

Develop strategies to confidently and effectively interact with faculty and undergraduate students.

Meet and build relationships with other new and experienced TAs at IUPUI.

The IUPUI TA Orientation is co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and the Graduate Office.

Frequently Asked Questions about the IUPUI TA Orientation

Who should attend and why?

New and current IUPUI graduate students with first-time teaching responsibilities during fall, spring, or summer semesters of the current academic year are encouraged to attend the TA Orientation. Teaching responsibilities can include being primary instructors, recitation leaders, lab instructors, or graders. Note: Some departments require first-time TAs to attend the orientation.

The orientation is designed to support new TAs with basic strategies and tools to successfully start and manage their teaching responsibilities. Current TAs are welcome to attend for a quick refresher, but we recommend that they check out other TA development offerings by the CTL.

What happens at the TA Orientation?

Attendees from various schools and departments participate in interactive whole-group and breakout sessions. Lunch will be provided.

Whole group sessions will focus on IUPUI policy and procedures relevant to TAs and discuss strategies for navigating the diverse student body at IUPUI.

Breakout sessions, led by faculty and experienced TAs, will address topics and challenges specific to primary instructors, lab instructors, and graders.

The TA Orientation also features a Resource Fair where attendees can meet representatives from the various units and offices that support graduate and undergraduate student success on campus.

When and where is the TA Orientation Held?

The TA Orientation is offered during the start of the current academic year. It is held on the Thursday before the fall semester classes begin. Note: Academic year starts in the fall semester and ends with the summer semester.

Where can I park to attend the TA Orientation?

The parking lots on the IUPUI campus offer many ST and EM designated parking spots for IUPUI students and employees respectively. Handicapped parking is also available. If you do not have an appropriate parking permit yet, use the metered parking spots.

To ensure adequate lunch orders are placed, we require all attendees to register in advance for the TA Orientation. Moreover, registration information can be shared with schools and departments as required.

I may not receive my TA assignment until classes start. What should I do in that case?

Graduate students expecting to be first-time TAs in the fall, spring, or summer semester of the current academic year are encouraged to attend the TA Orientation. If the TA Orientation is mandatory in your department, we suggest that you plan summer travels accordingly to ensure that you do not miss the TA Orientation.

In case I missed the TA Orientation, are there any online resources available?

PowerPoint presentations and recordings of select sessions from the TA Orientation will be available here in late August. This information will also be shared through a post-event email sent to all attendees. This post-event email can be submitted as proof of attendance to program coordinators in departments that require mandatory attendance of the orientation.

Graduate students who miss the TA Orientation will have to discuss next steps with their respective departments. Apart from providing online resources from the TA Orientation, the CTL does not conduct make-up orientations.

Will there be a TA Orientation during the spring semester?

Since we do not offer a TA Orientation during the spring or summer semesters, graduate students anticipating to be first-time TAs later in the year can attend the TA Orientation in fall.

Does the CTL offer additional TA professional development opportunities?